Loom binder



April 11, 1939. DEWHURST 2,153,662

LOOM BINDER Filed July 8, 1937 INVENTOR.

Patented Apr. 11, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to looms and more particularly to the shuttle boxes and the shuttle engaging binders associated therewith.

It is customary to provide the shuttle boxes of looms with a binder to frictionally engage the shuttle as it enters the shuttle box at the conclusion of its flight across the lay. The binder is usually pivoted at the outer end of the shuttle box, that is to say the end of the box remote from the reed, and extends longitudinally thereof terminating at the inner end of the box where it comes to rest on the shuttle box mouth of usual construction. A protector finger which controls the protection mechanism also contacts the binder at this point so that when the incoming shuttle frictionally engages the binder and moves it laterally the movement is transmitted to the protection mechanism thereby permitting continued operation of the loom. A leather is usually provided to extend along the shuttle engaging surface of the binder to increase its checking qualities and prevent undue wear on the shuttle.

The tendency to operate looms at higher speeds with the corresponding increase in the speed of the shuttle causes the leather on the binder to wear rapidly necessitating frequent replacements. This is largely due to the box mouth on the shuttle box guiding the incoming shuttle into the box and permitting the shuttle to establish a contact upon the binder always at the same point. To overcome this undesirable condition I provide a binder whereby it becomes unnecessary to employ the usual box mouth on the shuttle box.

It has been observed that the flight of a shuttle across the lay during loom operation is not always uniform due to various Weaving peculiarities consequently a guide or box mouth has heretofore been provided at the entrance of the shuttle box to guide the shuttle into and out of the box when it is picked across the lay. Taking cognizance of this condition I employ this inherent irregularity of the shuttle flight to distribute the wear on the binder leather by removing the box mouth from the shuttle box thereby permitting the shuttle to contact the binder at various points along its face and also by providing a binder construction whereby the loom efficiency will be increased.

A feature of the invention is the novel tension spring the construction of which enables the binder leather to exert a frictional contact on the shuttle over an area considerably greater than has heretofore been possible, when employing the binders now in current use.

Another feature is the checking action derived from the tension spring whereby the greatest tension on the binder leather is exerted directly after the binder has been moved laterally by the impact of the incoming shuttle, the tension thereafter diminishing as the shuttle comes to rest in the box.

Still another feature is the novel lay stop mounted on the binder to limit the lateral movement of the binder toward the shuttle race the application of which permits the elimination of '10 are possible by those skilled in the art.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a front view of a portion of the loom lay showing the right hand shuttle box with the invention attached.

Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the binder alone on an enlarged scale showing the construction clearly.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, I is a portion of the lay with the shuttle 2 thereon resting against the shuttle box back 3 and in position against the picker 4 to be picked across the lay by the picker stick 5. The new binder 6 is mounted on the pivot l and extends longitudinally of the lay. The usual protector finger 8 is mounted on the lay to contact the forward end of the binder and transmits a lateral urge thereto which is derived from the usual protection mechanism 9 (partially shown) and tends to displace the binder towards the shuttle path. To limit this lateral movement of the binder a novel lay stop ID is provided which is fastened to the binder 6 by the bolt I I and secured by the nut I2. The lower extremity of the stop Ill extends sufficiently downward to permit the adjusting means I3 to contact the plate I3a on the lay whereby the binder may be regulated toward and from the lay. It will be seen that the usual shuttle box mouth may be eliminated by employing this construction.

Referring now to Figs. 2 and 3 the novel binder will be described. The elongated binder body has two holes I l and Ma which establish double fulcrum points for the pivot I so that the binder 6 may be readily interchanged to meet conditions on the lay. The binder has a curved shuttle engaging face in which is formed a longitudinal recess I5 extending approximately from the center portion of the body to a point near the pivot holes 14, and I la. A tension spring is provided having a flat elongated surface I6 which extends substantially the entire length of the recess l5 and in relation to the shuttle engaging surface terminating in a hook shaped extremity H which is fastened in the slot l8 provided in the binder 6 by the bolt II which extends transversely of the binder and is secured by the nut l2. It is to be noted that the bolt I! also acts as a support for the lay stop I0 in this preferred version of the invention shown but any other suitable fastening means may be adopted without departing from the spirit of the invention. I provide a binder leather H! or other friction material which is cemented or otherwise fastened to the curved surface of the binder and which extends longitudinally thereof terminating at the end of the elongated surface l6 of the spring where it is fastened by rivets 20 or other suitable means. A spring stop comprising a screw 2| and the nuts 22 and 23 extends transversely of the binder into the recess I5 where it is lodged in under the elongated surface l6 of the tension spring. This spring stop is adjustable to control the amount of movement of the surface I6 of the spring when flexed by the pressure of the shuttle.

In operation the device provides a simple and efficient shuttle check. We will assume that the shuttle is at the opposite side of the loom from that shown in Fig. 1. The binder as shown in this figure is in normal position, that is to say that the protector finger 8 is being forced against the binder B by the usual protection mechanism thereby urging the binder laterally towards the shuttle path until the stop l3 comes to rest against the lay. When the shuttle is picked and arrives at the box shown in Fig. 1 it contacts the forward end of the curved surface of the binder leather 19 thereby operating the protection mechanism to permit continued operation of the loom. As will be seen the absence of the shuttle box mouth permits the shuttle to arrive and contact the binder anywhere along its curved for- Ward end depending upon the influence of the pick etc., which tends to distribute the wear on the leather. The shuttle thereafter advances into the box Where it is frictionally engaged by the portion of the leather fastened over the tension spring. A reference to Fig. 2 will disclose the construction of the checking spring upon which the impact of the shuttle is dissipated. By employing this construction the checking tension is greatest in'the vicinity of the hook shaped extremity of the spring, the tension gradually diminishing towards the free end of the spring where the shuttle finally comes to rest. The advantage derived from this construction is that when the binder moves laterally the elongated surface of the spring is brought inwardly towards the shuttle path where it is in position to exert a light pressure against the shuttle over an area considerably larger than has heretofore been possible when employing the binders that are in current use.

The adjustable spring stop 2| on the binder is provided to extend into the recess and in under the elongated portion of the spring whereby the lateral movement of the spring is controlled to I prevent the shuttle from rebounding in the shuttle box.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is:

1. In a binder for looms, a binder body provided with a surface the continuity of which is interrupted by a recess having an opening which leads into a spaced parallel slot, a rebent resilient element having its rebent portion maintained in the slot and its remainder extending through the opening and across the recess free, means to confine the rebent end of said element on the binder against movement in the slot, but permitting lateral movement of the portion that is free, and means providing a shuttle engaging surface the continuity of which is uninterrupted supported in part by said body and a remainder of the resiiient element that is free.

2. In a shuttle binder for looms, a binder body provided with a binder slot having an opening leading into a recess spaced to lie parallel with the slot, a rebent spring the free end of which extends lengthwise of said body to substantially close the recess its rebent end terminating in the slot, and means to confine the rebent end of said spring rigidly in the binder slot whereby lateral movement of the free end of the spring is permitted with respect to the recess and the slot.

3. In a shuttle binder for looms, a binder body provided with a surface the continuity of which is interrupted by a recess, a rebent element in the recess having its rebent portion adapted to be anchored and its remainder extending over the recess free, means to confine the rebent portion of said element on the binder against movement but permitting lateral movement of the remainder that is free, and means providing a shuttle engaging surface the continuity of which is uninterrupted and which surface is supported in part by a portion of said body and a remainder by the element that is free.

JOHN DEWHURST. 

